Adjustable coupling for sewing-machine or other round belts.



No. s9|,aa4. Patented Ian. 28, I902;

o. H. .ABNEY. ADJUSTABLE COUPLING FOR SEWING MACHINE OR OTHER BOUND BELTS.

(Application mum, 9, 1901.

(No Model.)

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NITE STATES ATENT FFICE.

DITON I-I. ABNEY, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

ADJUSTABLE COUPLING FOR SEWING-MACHINE OR OTHER ROUND BELTS.

SPEGIFIGATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 691 ,884, dated January 28, 1902.

Application filed May 9, 1901. Serial No. 59,365. (No model.)

City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Couplings for Sewing'Machine or other Round Belts, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an adjustable cou pling for sewingmachine and other round belts; and my object is to produce a device of this character whereby an unskilled person can easily and quickly tension the beltas desired.

, The invention consists, essentially, in a coupling comprising two members detachably connected together and mounted on the ends of a belt, at least one of said membersbeing adapted when turned in the properdireciion to synchronously advance upon the belt and pare from its end an amount of material proportionate to such advance, and thereby maintain its proper relative position with respect to the companion member.

With the above object in view the invention further consists in certain novel and pe culiar features of construction and combinations of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation showing the ends of a round belt secured together by a coupling embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the progressive or cutting member as advanced by a Wrench or key upon the belt and also shows projectingfrom said member a strip as pared from the end of the belt. Fig. 3 shows a longitudinal section of said adjustable member of the coupling detached from the belt. Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken on line IV IV of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail, where like reference characters designate corresponding parts, 1 designates an ordinary round belt,of leather or equivalent materialsuch, for instance, as a sewing-machine belt;

' 2 designates one of'the members of myimproved coupling, the same being of cylindrical form, preferably, and reliably secured upon one end of the belt in any suitable or preferred manner, said member by preference terminatingin ahook 3. 4 designates the other member of the coupling, the same being also of cylindrical form in cross-section and mounted upon the opposite end of the belt and terminating, preferably, in loop 5 for engagement with hook 3. Member 4 is internally screw-threaded, as shown at 6, in order that when turned in the proper direction upon the belt it shall advance thereon, cutting its mating thread in the belt in an obvious manner, it being understood, of course, that the front end of said member is preferably flared or sharpened, as at 7, so as to facilitate this operation.

8 designates a cutting blade or knife projecting radially of member 4 to the center of the same, and said blade or knife may be formed integral with the member or secured therein in any suitable manner, being preferably screwed therein, as shown at 9, though it may be riveted in place, if desired. It extends inward to the center of the member in order that it may cut or pare to the center of the belt and is of course pitched at an angle to the end of the belt, the pitch preferably corresponding to that of the threads in order that it shall cut or pare materialfrom the end of the belt proportionate to the advance thereon of the member, it being obvious that the pitch or inclination of the bladeor knife determines the thickness of said strip and that as the knife travels spirally said strip emerges from the front end of the memberin the form of a spiral shaving, as shown at 10, the same being readily detached when the desired adjustment of the member is attained bya slight pull," this pull resulting in drawing it against the edge of theknife, as will be readily understood.

To advance member 4 upon the belt, it is first disconnected from the companion member 2, and because the belt presents a small surface to be gripped it is desirable to use a key or wrench, as at 11, to engage the loop and give the operator the desired purchase or leverage in turning it, and owing to the flexibility of the belt it is also desirable to use a pair of pliers to grip the belt a slight distance in advance of the member and hold it rigid while the key or wrench is being turned, or the belt may be secured in a vise to hold it during such operation; but as the pliers and vise form no part of the invention and may be of any suitable type they are not herein shown and described. Furthermore, the member may be screwed upon the belt by means of a small wire rod inserted through loop 5 to get the desired leverage as a substitute for the key or wrench "11 shown. It is also obvious that the hook 3 and loop 5 are not indispensable, as a difierent type of connection for detachably uniting the members may be employed Without affecting the essential parts of the coupling, the same comprising a tubular internally-threaded member and a knife carried thereby, substantially as shown and described.

As is Well known, sewing-machine operators frequently experience considerable annoyance and trouble in tensioning the belts of their {machines. Usually the connection is by means of a wire link engaging holes in the ends of the belt. With this connection the only method of tensioning after bending the loop so as to disconnect it at one end from the belt is to cut off a portion from the end-of the belt, make a new perforation at what is considered the proper point, rethread the link therethrough, and bend it back to its original shape. The amount cut off under ordinary conditions is by guess. If too much is removed, the belt is ruined for that machine unless an additional piece be spliced on, an operation usually beyond the skill of the operator. If too little is cut off, then the operation just described must be repeated, and it sometimes is necessary to repeat this operation several times, as it is advisable usually to err on the safe side by cutting off a fraction less than what is deemed the true amount, as a mistake on the other side is irreparable. With my invention this difficulty and trouble are entirely eliminated, as the adjustment by member'4 may be made almost imperceptible. Another difficulty with shortening the belt in the old way is that the operator must out OK an amount at least equal to the diameter of the hole or slit made to receive the link; but where the adjustment should be less than that distance it is obvious that it is impossible to retension the belt.

This improved coupling is intended to be used in connection with lathe-belts and, in fact, in-various other connections, though it is designed especially for use upon sewingmachines.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced an adjustable coupling for belts which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of invention, and it is to be understood that while I have illustrated and described its preferred embodiment I reserve the right to make such changes in the form, proportion, detail construction, and arrangement of the parts as shall not involve a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character described, an internally-threaded tubular member to be screwed upon the end of the belt and provided with a knife or blade to engage and pare off the end of the belt.

2. In a device of the character described, an internally-threaded member to be screwed upon the belt and a knife projecting radially thereof and arranged at an angle approximating that of said threaded surface.

3. In a device of the character described, an internally-threaded member to screw upon the end of the belt and provided at its rear end with a loop, and provided also forward of said loop with an inwardly-projecting knife having its sharp edge presented toward the end of the belt.

4. In a deviceof the character described the combination of a belt, and a coupling comprising a pair of members mounted on the ends of the belt and detachably connected together, one of said members being screwed upon the end of the belt and provided witha knife or blade to pare off the end of the belt as said member is screwed thereon.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of a belt, and a coupling consisting of a pair of members mounted on the ends of the belt, one of said members being screwed upon the beltand provided with an inwardly-projecting knife to pare off the end v of the belt as said member is screwed thereon,

one of said members being provided with a hook and the other with a loop detachably engaging the hook, substantially as described.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination of a belt, and a coupling consisting of a pair of members mounted on the ends of the belt and detachably connected together, one of said members being internally threaded and having its front end beveled to flare as at 7, and provided with an inwardlyprojecting knife to pare 0d the end of the belt as said member advances thereon, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

DITON H. ABNEY.

Witnesses:

H. O. Rononns, G. Y. THORPE. 

